Photo by Daniel Dorsa.One of the ABC's of journalism says that while working, you should refuse gifts of any kind. But I've learned that when homemade lasagna is on the line—exceptions should be made.Jeremy Malvin of Chrome Sparks has vowed in a New Year's resolution to have lunch with a different person every day for a year. Today, I'm number 296. The menu: his bandmate's mom's homemade lasagna and a fruit salad, all politely shoveled in with a plastic spoon."If I set up a lunch date, I know I'll be out of bed," he says. "At the end of last year I had a couple of really interesting lunches and figured I'd keep doing it. I meet new people and I'm more forward about it. It has led to relationships I never thought I would have."Jeremy's relationship with music, although, is longstanding. He's been recording in various capacities for years, and is currently on the roster of a North American tour with The M Machine and equally explosive live performers, The Glitch Mob. His three-piece percussion centered band, Chrome Sparks, has been his thought-provoking music venture to swing past the monkey business and to the top of the down-tempo music playground."The three piece [band] is where I finally felt comfortable. Every other group before this felt a bit off—unless it was a solo show, which I never felt necessarily comfortable doing in the first place," says the front man. "I like it to be more of a live experience. I come from a background of playing in bands and as much as I love 'DJing,' when I'm doing a performance of my own music, it's a separate thing."As for his lunchtime ritual, Jeremy has a solid two months to go. Although he's chosen his lunch dates wisely, he's still encountered some rejections—aprominent folk band front man—and some brag-worthy lunch dates achievements—comedian and Parks and Recreation writer, Megan Amram.The quality of the lasagna, albeit cold, should be noted here. If I wasn't prewarned it was made with a mother's touch, I would have guessed it. Gobbling lasagna with a plastic spoon isn't something I recommended, but grabbing a bite with this intrinsically multitalented producer, certainly is.Keep your eyes out at airports and highway rest stops. You just may get a tap on the shoulder from a skinny kid in a white turtleneck who asks, "Hey it sounds really weird but I have this New Year's resolution where I eat lunch with a new person every day and I was wondering…"Chrome Sparks EP Goddess is out now on Future Classic and a full length LP is anticipated before February 2015, to accompany a summer tour. So keep your eyes on his Soundcloud and Facebook for more updates and music.Whatever you do, check out his Tumblr and New Year's resolution success story on Lunch with Jeremy. Rachael enjoys wearing white turtlenecks too and is on Twitter: @rachaeldamore
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As effortless as their performance appears, it was no walk to the record shop. "I don't like decision making, I just like recording," says Jeremy. "I'll record a lot of crap, then take away from it and then piece it together." The notable sound differences from his initial release My <3, to the Sparks EP in 2013 and this year's, Goddess EP signify this creative method. Each release has carved its own ambience and tone, and each EP indicates Jeremy's desire to leave his sound undefined.
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